Trees to sow along drive

NewLeaf17

We are planning to sow trees along our drive which has a granite wall up along it.

It is not an overly long drive but I have been thinking for a while what trees to suit that might suit it. I will probably only get 3-4 max on either side. The whole site is surrounded by conifer evergreen hedge which sometimes I find nearly too much.

Anyway because of that, I would like to put in chanticleer pear trees as I think they have a nice shape and offer good variety of colour throughout the seasons.

I would like to put in another tree in between them and I am not sure what to go for. I want something again that is of good ornamental structure, upright, and offers interesting colour through the seasons. The only one I have been coming up with at the moment is Malus Scarletta which is a crapapple tree! I don't really want to go with cherry blossoms here as I have one elsewhere in the garden.

I would really appreciate any good recommendations that would work well with the chanticleer pear tree and which offers something interesting in terms of colour all year around and it single stem good structure too.

Thanks for help!

Hoof Hearted2

Whichever variety of ones you decide to go with, may I suggest you plant semi mature or standard sized trees rather than grow them from seed, you'll be waiting an awful long time is you decide to sow.

NewLeaf17

Hoof-Hearted2, I will indeed be doing that.

All I want now is to pick something I will be really happy with!

lazybones32

A fastigiate beech maybe? Fagus sylvatica Dawyck Purple
White birch. Betula papyrifera
Snakebark maple Acer griseum

There are two other trees whose names escape me now - I'll get them when I stop trying to think what they are. They both need a sheltered site and one needs an acidic soil (add moss peat)


You probably have enough conifers with the hedge but there are some nice species available.

Apple of my eye

I'm looking at the exact same thing at the moment! I'm going for the pyrus chanticleer (3 on either side up my driveway) but the other one I fell in love with was the snowy mespilus. The jacquemontii birch gets great reviews as well (but maybe best planted in a cluster).

recedite

Silver birch would be very good, and also has the advantage that it won't cast too much shade on the other trees. "Dalecarlica" variety especially. I think Jacquemonti are a bit too white, and they definitely don't have as nice a shape. But each to his own.

Fruiting pears are worth considering, the blossom is almost as good as flowering cherries, and then you get the pears as well.

taxusbaccata

Im going native along my own drive with blackthorn which are not too big and produce an amazing blossom with sloes later in the year. Also in the native line consider wild cherry, hawthorn, spindle or Guelder rose (the later not a tree but striking flowers).

NewLeaf17

"Apple of my eye" - Yeah I am going with similar to that!

With regard to the snowy mespilus, I spoke to a person in a garden centre as I have a snowy mespilus sowed already in my garden but the person in the garden centre told me not to put it near the chanticleer pear tree as they are too similar. In her view the snowy mespilus was more interesting!

I sowed in another part of the garden cluster of trees in 3 (2 x silver birch and 1 x Jacquemonti)

I'm still not decided on what to sow in between the chanticleer pear trees OR should I got with more snowy mespilus in their place. I'm still after another tree that offers more rich colour then than the while of the snowy/pear tree in between, something with beautiful red/scarlett etc but interesting rest of year round too. I also want it to be a nice upright structure too.

taxusbaccata I will have a look at those native options too

Thanks all
Still welcoming every recommendation, thanks

mr chips

I've planted a variety of deciduous trees along the lane here. One of my favourites is a whitebeam ash, particularly because of how the paleness of the leaves is so striking. It has grown reasonably quickly from about a 1.5 metre bare root sapling 7 years ago to between 5-6 metres now, but seems to have slowed down over the last couple of years or so and probably has done the majority of its growing. There's also a copper beech, an amelanchier, a silver birch, a purple plum (non-fruiting/decorative variety which holds its leaves right through to late November or even early December) and a couple of different varieties of maple - Japanese and, um ... Canadian? The Japanese maple and purple plum are smaller/slower-growing than the others.

Hopefully that gives you some food for thought, anyway.

NewLeaf17

Thanks for those Mr.chips


I like the idea of plum non-fruiting tree - What is this tree like throughout the seasons?

Also some of the crap apple varieties seems to be nice but again not too sure what they are like throughout the seasons, have been looking at Malus Scarlett!

Looking for a tree with is upright structure but offers most interesting colours throughout the seasons! Thanks


With regard to the flowering pear trees, which would one recommend along the drive as most intersting or are there many varities i.e. Ballerina and cleveland (Although I don't think cleveland is available in Ireland)

mr chips

I planted that decorative plum as a bare root 1.5 metre sapling probably about five years ago, and it was staked for the first couple.  It's still fairly slender and roughly 2.8 metres in height by now.  In terms of the shape it has grown up more than out, if you know what I mean, and I've never pruned it to shape it in any way.  The new leaf buds have just started to appear within the past couple of weeks or thereabouts, and as I said it'll keep its foliage (and colour) until quite late in the year so I'd say it can be in leaf for a good nine months.  It's a fairly dark purple, and looks fairly close to the ones in these pics -
https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http://www.kingssunsetnursery.com/Tree-Descript-pages/PurpleLeafPlum.JPG&f=1
https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http://shop.moonvalleynurseries.com/v/vspfiles/photos/230-2T.jpg&f=1
Have to say I'm very glad to have it - I get a lot of pleasure from looking at it out the kitchen window, and in fact at mealtimes I sit facing the window for mainly that reason.  I don't think you'd regret getting one.